Western Wall Bar Mitzvah

July 4th 2011

Going Back to the Source; a Western Wall Bar Mitzvah

The question is why?

Why would you go back to the destruction of the First and Second Temple in order to celebrate your son’s  bar mitzvah, to celebrate that interesting duality of both freedom and responsibility that he acquires at such a young age?

The Kotel (or “Wall” in Hebrew) has great significance; while related to the BeitHaMikdash ( the Temple in Hebrew), it is not actually the walls of the Temple itself. Rather, it is the last remaining wall of the surrounding wall that surrounded the Temple Mount.

So close, yet so far.

Where the “Holy of Holies” stands, the place the High Priest entered on Yom Kippur, Jewish sources believeis actually in the same spot of the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock, which is of Muslim significance.  It is  interesting to note that this plot of land is not currently in Jewish hands, and security guards are necessary if you do decide to travel up to the Temple Mount, where the famous blue domed structure that is part of the Jerusalem panoramic landscape  is found. It is the place, Jewish mystical sources believe, that the Schechina, or Divine Presenceis most found, the closer you get to the Holy of Holies.

At the same time that you are celebrating your son’s advancement to “adulthood” ( Jews really have a great imagination, to call children adults when they are still in the beginning of their growth spurts!), you are also letting go of what Jewish thought says is the release of your responsibility of his Jewish commitment. It is all, so to speak, in his hands now.

And how appropriate, as you celebrate your son’s bar mitzvah, that duality of destruction and rebirth. Letting go of the past and allowing a new, exciting growth to happen.

Kotel Bar Mitzvahs are unparalled in their spiritual and cultural significance.

So how do you do it?

Contact Rabbi Yossi Swerldlow @http://www.kotelbarmitzvah.com/, an organization that has over ten years of experience in making parents and teens on Israel Bar Mitzvah Tours’ dreams come to frution. Every last detail, including reserving a Bima, arranging the Torah and prayer books, planning seating arrangements, connecting you with  photographers and  restaurants, organizing a Minyan, and prayer leading setup is part of the package that Rabbi Swerldlow can set into motion, making sure that your Kotel Bar Mitzvah experience will be one of joyous, and calming.